Pictures of "long lines" and "crowding" on Oasis

[MisterFidgetpants]

On Air Club way too small for the ship. SRO and people turning away.

 

Solarium crowded on sea days.

[time4u2go]

I can agree that both of these are valid reasons for you, or anyone else, to not take pictures of the crowds. But, do you have any pictures of things you were interested in that might have accidentally caught the crowds in the background. Also, after all of the threads I've read on here where one person posted that they had such bad experiences with crowds and lines that it ruined their vacations and they will never cruise on the big ships again and then someone replied saying "I was on the same cruise as you, and I didn't experience any crowds or lines at all", I would think that someone who posts here regularly would make a point to take pictures of lines and crowds when they experience them, especially I they plan to get on here and post about them.

 

Not really, because by the time I got past the line to the actual things I would have taken pictures of (like family members on the rock climbing wall or ice skating for example), the pictures would not have shown the line we waited in to get in.

[eel]

The parades get pretty crowded. The Windjammer can get crowded too. I avoided the WIndjammer when we sailed Oasis in June 2011. Other than that, not so bad. And our sailing was filled to capacity - 6400 passengers. Pretty much all of the 3rd and 4th passenger slots were filled.

 

Here is a picture during 70s night on the Promenade:

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[Frankmac]

This was the area just outside the Windjammer and it was not too bad at all:

 

 

 

 

in fairness this was on a port day. It got worse on sea days.

[TheShayQueen]

Our secret for this problem is the following. We will go up to go down, or sometimes down to go up. Basically we travel the opposite direction, until the elevator has stopped going that direction. We then hit the floor we want and pass usually pass by the folks still waiting on the floor we embarked on. We do this after a few tries of going the direction we want, unless the elevator stops in front of us, it is going the direction we want, and has room for us. After being on the Oasis class as much as we have been, this trick helps during peak times, such as after muster drill, right after a show ends, and disembarkation day.

 

We also do this at hotels if need be. It also works on cruise ships that have less numbers, such as when we sailed on the Island Princess. We also walk when it is just a few floors, but not everyone can or is able to do this.

 

EDIT: On Oasis Class ships if you are headed the "wrong" direction and you hit the floor you want it will not remember your floor stop. It deletes it, until you are headed the direction that you intended to travel.

 

We actually figured this out towards the middle of the cruise and it worked like a charm.

[JBSteelerfan]

This was the area just outside the Windjammer and it was not too bad at all:

 

 

 

 

For a minute I thought that was the Galveston Terminal!! :D

[dacsmom]

This is the Day 2 Move It Move It parade. I was one deck up in the photo area and had a great view

[gssmks]

Almost 4000 views and not one post of unreasonable lines or crowds. I think I will just assume that if we decide to book the Oasis, and if we are willing to use a little common sense, the lines and crowds won't be an issue for us. Then, I will pray that my assumption turns out to be correct. :)

[perditax]

To be fair, I've noticed that people don't tend to take pictures "of crowds" on their vacation. Yet we all know crowded buffets happen on day one, it's just not a super interesting photographic subject. So I'm unsure of the scientific validity of this post. Conversely, I've noticed pools are often suspiciously empty in many pics, when we know that's hardly likely, so I assume the people who want to take photos of public spaces do it during off hours.

 

TL;DR I don't trust people's vacation photos for accurate crowd representation

[board57796]

I went on Oasis the first week of June. According to the lady when we checked in, the ship was "full" but imagine my surprise when on our sea days this is what the decks looked like...

 

 

Even in the Solarium, this entire area was empty for almost an hour

 

 

Obviously right next to the pools there were more people but I was always able to find 3 chairs next to each other. It was quite pleasant.

 

I know it's been said on CC that Oasis/Allure don't feel as crowded as their capacity would suggest but this trip was amazing. Even the promenade was easy to navigate between dinners.

Edited July 23, 2015 by board57796

[Teeara]

A concereige once suggested for us to us to try it. We obviously would not get into a full elevator that is going the wrong way. However, if I am on deck 5 and want to go to deck 17 and everyone else is waiting for an elevator going up, there is a small fraction if any that are going to deck 3 or 4. If the elevator is empty and going down, why not jump in it?

 

My departure from the elevator bank, even if in the wrong direction, reduces 2 people from the crowd that is milling about waiting to jam into the next elevator going up. By us not waiting we also make room for 2 more that take our place in the next elevator going up. We also only do this after we can't get into the first two or three up elevators that arrive. Like I said we also take the stairs up for short runs such as decks 17 to 15 and 8 to 4.

 

If you every stay at Embassy Suites in Fort Lauderdale you will find this extremely helpful was you are trying to go to the lobby when you are checking out. When everyone from the floors above you fill the elevator before you have a chance to even think about getting on, going up is practically the only option. Sometimes you have to be creative to get to the end destination.

 

You you choose to sail on Oasis Class hope you love it as much as we do. :)

 

I do this all the time when I cruise. Even did it during my trip to Israel when the hotels were emptying out with bus passengers all leaving at the same time. Got on the "down" elevator so I could then go up since there were so many people waiting to go up to their rooms. Or vice versa. Been doing it on cruise ships for years. But if I'm only going a few decks then I'll take the stairs. The knees aren't as good now as they used to be ;):D

[Flo71]

Where's Waldo?

 

Holding the camera at the back of the queue :p

[Flo71]

I can think of a few reasons why there might not be many pictures of lines/crowding.

 

For starters, at least for me, I would have no reason to take a picture of lines/crowding. It's not like I'm wanting to look at such a picture along with my other vacation pictures after I return home.

 

Another reason could be that many people (like me) simply do not carry a phone/camera around with them all the time on a cruise ship. So even if I had a reason to take a picture of a line (which I don't), I couldn't.

 

But if it annoyed a person enough that they felt the need to include it in a review you would have thought there would be lots of photos of it to illustrate their point.

[CaptData]

I use a scooter so crowded elevators could be common especially when getting off the ship at ports. So I follow this rule I go up to go down. At supper depending on the floor I am on I use the same rule. Otherwise I have to wait for 6 elevators.

 

When you first board everyone heads to the Windjammer but there are always other options (check on here for your ship). On Oasis Park Café is open when you board, so is Sorrento's and Café Promenade.

[perditax]

Day-one atrium on NCL Getaway last month. A lot of the crowding you see on the lower level was for Guest Services.

 

(Not trying to prove any particular point here, just posting a photo I happened to have of a crowded area, so if your fingers are itching to tell me that's not a big crowd, it'll be lost on me.)

 

[Susie51]

Thank you for your help

[Bellyflopchamp]

I didn't read through all the posts, but if you want to see pictures and hear about crowding there was an excellent review that was done by user Harryfat1. He had a ton of pictures throughout the cruise and was also curious about the crowding so he took pictures of it and made suggestions such as wait 15 minutes after the end of shows. He took a picture right at the end when everyone was trying to leave and then 15 minutes later when he tried to leave. The differences are amazing. There will be crowding at times, but they can be easily avoided. Below is a link to his review starting on page 3 where they show up to the terminal.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2146596&page=3

[time4u2go]

But if it annoyed a person enough that they felt the need to include it in a review you would have thought there would be lots of photos of it to illustrate their point.

 

I disagree. There would have to be several things in play for there to be such photos. For one, it would have to be someone that posts to Cruise Critic, which most people realize is but a small percentage of cruisers. Also, it would have to be someone willing to write a review and post pictures, which makes it an even smaller percentage. Then on top of that, as I said before, it would have to be someone that bothered to take such pictures. And it would have to be someone that has a camera when they encountered the crowds. That's an awful lot of conditions, so I think it's not surprising at all that there are few (if any) such pictures.

[time4u2go]

To be fair, I've noticed that people don't tend to take pictures "of crowds" on their vacation. Yet we all know crowded buffets happen on day one, it's just not a super interesting photographic subject. So I'm unsure of the scientific validity of this post. Conversely, I've noticed pools are often suspiciously empty in many pics, when we know that's hardly likely, so I assume the people who want to take photos of public spaces do it during off hours.

 

TL;DR I don't trust people's vacation photos for accurate crowd representation

 

Well said. It's as if the OP wants some sort of proof that there are crowds/lines, and are unwilling to believe that there could be crowds/lines in the absence of such proof.

[Havingfun2010]

Almost 4000 views and not one post of unreasonable lines or crowds. I think I will just assume that if we decide to book the Oasis, and if we are willing to use a little common sense, the lines and crowds won't be an issue for us. Then, I will pray that my assumption turns out to be correct. :)

 

I wish I could give you a picture of a line, but on two cruises of the Oasis class I never encountered one.

 

Some pointers. When you get on the ship, don't go to the WJ. Go to the Solarium Bistro. It will be a "healthy" buffet and no people. Everyone goes to the WJ.

 

For breakfast go to Johnny Rockets. It's free, and unless you need a plate filled with bacon, it is good.

 

When a show lets out, the elevators can be troubling, but if you don't need one fast, walk down the promenade, and take one on the other side.

 

Parades on the promenade....sit in the pub, have a beer, and watch from it. Most likely you can't see everything, but you hear, and you have a beer in your hand, so it's good!

 

I think the bigger ships, feel less crowded, and RCCL does a great job on crowd control and movement.

[gssmks]

Day-one atrium on NCL Getaway last month. A lot of the crowding you see on the lower level was for Guest Services.

 

(Not trying to prove any particular point here, just posting a photo I happened to have of a crowded area, so if your fingers are itching to tell me that's not a big crowd, it'll be lost on me.)

 

 

Now, I do consider this as crowded. Was this typical of what you experienced all week or was it only during embarkation? And, I haven't looked at any NCL ships. Is this ship comparable to the Oasis in size and passenger count?

[perditax]

Now, I do consider this as crowded. Was this typical of what you experienced all week or was it only during embarkation? And, I haven't looked at any NCL ships. Is this ship comparable to the Oasis in size and passenger count?

 

 

Lower level (Atrium) didn't always look like that unless a game show, talk, performance, etc was happening, but O'Sheehan's usually did upstairs.

 

It didn't bother me too much--I figured out places to escape. But I snapped the photo because I'd always distrusted the beauty shots you see of blissfully empty public places and pools.

[gssmks]

I didn't read through all the posts, but if you want to see pictures and hear about crowding there was an excellent review that was done by user Harryfat1. He had a ton of pictures throughout the cruise and was also curious about the crowding so he took pictures of it and made suggestions such as wait 15 minutes after the end of shows. He took a picture right at the end when everyone was trying to leave and then 15 minutes later when he tried to leave. The differences are amazing. There will be crowding at times, but they can be easily avoided. Below is a link to his review starting on page 3 where they show up to the terminal.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2146596&page=3[/quote

 

This review was one of the ones I saw before posting. His review and a few others showed crowds on embarkation day, especially at the buffet between none and about 1:30, after the muster drill, after the shows and when getting on and off the ships at ports. Plus, I saw photos of crowds at certain activities like parades and parties on the promenade. But, there were crowds at those times on our only two prior cruises which were on Disney. Those did not bother us and definitely did not ruin our cruise. If those are the only crowds we are going to have, we will be fine. We can use common sense, like I posted before, to avoid or lessen those waits.

[gssmks]

Well said. It's as if the OP wants some sort of proof that there are crowds/lines, and are unwilling to believe that there could be crowds/lines in the absence of such proof.

 

Well, in a way, I guess I agree with you. I am asking if someone has photos of what they are referring to as crowds/lines. While I have not cruised Royal at all, I have done two cruises on Disney, both on the Dream and both prior to the two new ships. There were definitely lines on those ships, but nothing that affected our ability to enjoy our cruise. I want to see pictures of what everyone is complaining about, not to prove that the lines exist...I know they will exist...but to have a frame of reference to compare to what I experienced on the Dream. If the lines/crowds are similar to my prior experience, then at least for me, it's a nonfactor. If the lines/crowds are 3-4 times larger, then my daughter and I need to stick to the small ships.

 

No ulterior motives on my part.

[gssmks]

I wish I could give you a picture of a line, but on two cruises of the Oasis class I never encountered one.

 

Some pointers. When you get on the ship, don't go to the WJ. Go to the Solarium Bistro. It will be a "healthy" buffet and no people. Everyone goes to the WJ.

 

For breakfast go to Johnny Rockets. It's free, and unless you need a plate filled with bacon, it is good.

 

When a show lets out, the elevators can be troubling, but if you don't need one fast, walk down the promenade, and take one on the other side.

 

Parades on the promenade....sit in the pub, have a beer, and watch from it. Most likely you can't see everything, but you hear, and you have a beer in your hand, so it's good!

 

I think the bigger ships, feel less crowded, and RCCL does a great job on crowd control and movement.

 

Thanks for the tips. I am pretty sure that I am about to pull the trigger and book this. I called my TA today and told her to get me some quotes on different cabins and different dates. I think I might try Giovanni for lunch on embarkation day. Crowding after shows or during scheduled events doesn't bother me. That should be expected by everyone. I have waited almost an hour to get out of the parking lot after our local high school boys basketball games. I won't let that keep me from cruising the Oasis. I just did not want to schedule a cruise and spend the entire week pushing and shoving my way around a crowded ship.

Edited July 24, 2015 by gssmks